IMPROVING THE PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MILLET STOVER (PENNISETUM GLAUCUM) WITH ENSILED UREA AND MOLASSES: TRANSFORMING ANIMAL PRODUCTION AND FOOD SECURITY IN AFRICA

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of improving the physical properties of millet stover (Pennisetum glaucum) with ensiled urea and molasses. Millet stover (MS) was chopped into 1 to 3cm long to facilitate compaction and consolidation. A 2 ×3 factorial arrangement laid in a Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD) was used for the experiment. The material was millet Stover (maiwa type) which were ensiled at three different levels of 3, 5 and 7weeks at 2.76kg, then molasses and urea were added on the millet stover at 3ml and 0.9% respectively, while the control was ensiled without any of the additives for treatment 3. The

treatments were allocated to the experimental unit completely at random. Physical quality (pH, temperature, color and odor) were analyzed. The result of millet stover, silage at three, five and seven weeks on treatments 1, 2, and 3 (molasses, urea and control) fall under acidic conditions confirming good silages. Urea treatment had the highest pH values amongst all treatments with the following pH values; 4.65, 4.76 and 4.85 with a steady increase on pH level at weeks 3, 5 and 7. The physical characteristics in terms of pH of (MS) ensiled using additives made good silage as they were within the recommended range for quality silage. Urea and molasses are therefore recommended as additives for silage production using millet stover.